In the beginning of the 2018 campaign, Will Smith planted his flag as the team’s undisputed closer. He was absolutely dominant but as the season wore on, his dominance diminished, and his grip on the closer role had loosened mightily. It left enough in Bruce Bochy’s mind that the team wasn’t comfortable announcing him as the closer entering camp, meaning Smith is competing with Mark Melancon and Sam Dyson for the closing gig. In professional baseball, money talks, and Melancon is getting the money, and a lot of it to be frank. However, he’s been a huge bust since coming to the west coast. Even though Melancon has said he is “fully healthy,” Smith shouldbe the closer for the San Francisco Giants and drafted as such.

The notion that spring training stats don’t matter isn’t a generalization that applies to everyone. For proven stars locked in roles, sure, the stats don’t matter, and to some pitchers, it’s more about the movement on pitches and usage rather than the spring...

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